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22 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What have decreased death rates and increased the net rate of human population growth? (5)
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Modern technology, modern medicine, and the supply of food, clothing, and shelter.
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How has human population changed in the last forty years?
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It has more than doubled.
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What is the underlying issue of the environment?
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human population growth
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What two factors affect the solutions to problems in environmental science?
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science and values
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Define "sustainability"
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Management of natural resources and the environment with goals of allowing the harvest of resources to remain at or above some specified level, and the ecosystem to retain its function and structure.
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Define "sustainable resource harvest"
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The same quantity of a certain resource can be harvested each year (or other harvest interval) for an unlimited or specified amount of time without decreasing the ability of the resources to produce the same harvest level.
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Define "sustainable ecosystem"
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An ecosystem from which we are harvesting a resource that is still able to maintain its essential functions and properties.
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How long should sustainability last?
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for an unspecified long period of time
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Why is sustainable growth an oxymoron?
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Any steady growth produces large numbers in modest amounts of time. (exponential growth)
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What is the "sustainable global economy"?
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Careful management and wise use of the planet and its resources.
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Define "carrying capacity"
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The maximum number of individuals of a species that can be sustained by an environment without decreasing the capacity of the environment to sustain that same amount in the future.
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Define "megacities"
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urban areas with at least 8 million inhabitants
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What are "public service functions"?
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aspects of nature that help all life (atmosphere, trees, soil etc.)
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What is the "Precautionary Principle"?
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When there is a threat of serious and possibly irreversible environmental damage, we should not wait for scientific proof before taking precautionary steps to prevent potential harm to the environment.
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Explain the utilitarian justification.
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An aspect of the environment is valuable because it benefits individuals economically or it is directly necessary to human survival.
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Explain the ecological justification.
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An ecosystem is necessary for the survival of some species of interest to us or the system itself provides some benefit.
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Explain the aesthetic justification.
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It has to do with our appreciation of the beauty of nature.
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Explain the recreational justification.
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A species or ecosystem has recreational value.
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Explain the recreational justification.
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A species or ecosystem has recreational value.
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Explain the inspirational justification.
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Conservation of nature based on its benefit to the human spirit or our inner selves.
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Explain the creative justification.
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Nature is an aid to human creativity. This argument is rarely used in formal environmental arguments.
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Explain the moral justification.
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The belief that various aspects of the environment have a right to exist and that it is our moral obligation to allow them to continue or help them to persist. This can be extended to species, ecosytems, inanimate objects.
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